Interstellar Farming: I Make Potions and Climb to the Top

To facilitate her movements, Ning Xuan had been standing on a palm-sized Flying Disc made of Flying Elephant Ant Wings. Now, having dealt with the insect swarm, she sensed the instability in Di Youlin’s Spiritual Sea and immediately went to his side, pressing two fingers to his Baihui Acupoint.

The bloodshot veins in Di Youlin’s eyes gradually faded. As he looked at Ning Xuan, his amber, slit pupils glistened with moisture in the morning light. When he gazed at her, the violence that had been surging in his eyes had transformed into a look of grievance, like a small beast drenched in rain. Even the corners of his eyes were faintly red.

Ning Xuan couldn’t bear the look in his eyes, so she reached out and hugged him.

Qinghe’s Lifebound Dragon Scale had been stained with the blood of the insect swarm. This blood contained a primitive virus capable of contaminating spiritual power. As his spiritual power was tainted, Qinghe let out a sudden, muffled grunt, his long fingers digging into the edge of the basket.

The insect blood staining the Lifebound Dragon Scale HISSSED, and the dark purple filth slithered between the scales like a living creature. The scales that had receded two days ago began to re-emerge at a speed visible to the naked eye, their edges glowing with an eerie blue light as they pierced through his flesh one by one.

"Ugh..." Veins bulged on his temples. The newly grown scales were as sharp as knives. He should have been accustomed to this pain, but the two-day respite from their torment had almost made him forget what this agony felt like. Now, it was even more unbearable than before.

Qinghe’s agitated spiritual power began to spread outward. Ning Xuan, who was not far from him, noticed it immediately. Riding her Flying Disc, she carried Di Youlin and flew into the hot air balloon’s basket.

The hot air balloon dipped under the weight of two additional people, but under Lin Mo and Wang Yue’s control, it stabilized after descending to a certain altitude.

Ning Xuan placed her fingertip between Qinghe’s eyebrows, at his Forehead Acupoint. A gentle, golden spiritual power flowed from her finger into his acupoint.

Qinghe’s trembling eyelashes fluttered open, his unfocused gaze filled with disbelief. He had just bitten through his lip from the pain, and the corner of his mouth was now stained with blood. His lips moved as he uttered a barely audible, "Thank you."

Although they had quickly shredded the first wave of the insect swarm, the crisis was not over. Soon, a second wave swept in.

This time, Ning Xuan stopped Qinghe, Di Youlin, Lin Mo, and the others from rushing out. Riding the Flying Disc made of Flying Elephant Ant Wings, she charged into the swarm alone.

Ning Xuan’s figure was instantly swallowed by the surging insect tide. Di Youlin’s pupils contracted, and unable to stop himself, he flew out after her. Just as he was about to charge into the swarm, an eerie red glow spread outward from within its depths.

Through the gaps in the swarm, he saw countless black-and-red vines sprouting from Ning Xuan’s body. The thick vines intertwined to form an impenetrable, blood-red armor. The vicious flying insects crashed into it madly, their sharp mouthparts scraping against the surface of the Red Vines with a harsh, grating sound, yet they failed to break through in the slightest. Countless twisted, ghostly faces appeared on the vines’ surface, and the thorns covering them prevented the insects from advancing any further.

Suddenly, BOOM!

Crimson flames erupted from the gaps in the vines. The swarm CRACKLED and POPPED wherever the fire passed. The carapaces of the flying insects, with their long, metallic-sheened abdomens, rapidly expanded, warped, and carbonized in the intense heat before finally exploding with a BANG, filling the sky with fireballs.

Di Youlin’s robes billowed in the heatwave. He watched as the burning insect corpses rained down, and the swarm quickly began to thin.

The flying insects on the swarm’s periphery sensed Di Youlin’s aura and swarmed toward him. With Di Youlin’s Combat Power, these insects were naturally no match for him. However, their bodies contained the primitive virus that could contaminate spiritual power. Half-beastmen like Di Youlin and Qinghe, who had immense but flawed spiritual power, were highly susceptible to this contamination.

So, when Ning Xuan finally finished annihilating the second swarm, she turned around only to see that Di Youlin had been infected by the primitive virus again. This time, it was even more severe than the last; not only were his eyes filled with bloodshot veins, but feathers were also sprouting from his arms and chest.

Ning Xuan used her vines to wrap around Di Youlin and drag him back. She bit her finger and held it to his lips. Di Youlin opened his mouth to take it and began to suck, neutralizing the virus. Ning Xuan’s blood was more effective than any medicine.

Qinghe lowered his eyes, hiding his envy and jealousy. ’He had heard about Di Youlin’s past before. His own family of origin was of comparable status to the Di Family, but Di Youlin was from the Direct Lineage. Even though he was born a Half-beastman, his birth mother, desperate to keep him by her side, had done everything she could to hide it, allowing him to grow up in a normal environment. Qinghe, on the other hand, was from a branch family and had been sent to the Half-Beastman Tribe right after birth. When Di Youlin went to the battlefield as a teenager, Qinghe was undergoing slave-like conditioning. At fifteen, an incident occurred, and Di Youlin was sent to the seventh subterranean level of the Training Institute. Qinghe’s relatives would bring up Di Youlin, saying what happened to him was all his birth mother’s fault. Back then, Qinghe had thought to himself that he would rather live freely for fifteen years than endure a bleak, endless life as a slave.’

The virus in Di Youlin’s body was completely purged, and the feathers on his chest, abdomen, and face receded. But he kept Ning Xuan’s finger in his mouth, reluctant to let go.

Ning Xuan tapped his head in warning, and Di Youlin finally let go. He put Ning Xuan on his back and flew toward the opposite bank, beating his wings.

After a little over thirty minutes, the hot air balloon finally reached the opposite side. Ning Xuan and Di Youlin had arrived a moment before it. As agreed, Ning Xuan set off a firework signal. A short while later, Min Wu brought Zhang Nan, Chen Nan, and Wang Teng over. After safely dropping them off, he returned to pick up Yun Han, Tang Xue, and Nine-tailed, bringing them across as well. And with that, the entire squad had successfully crossed the Great Rift Valley.

It had to be said, Min Wu’s point-to-point Flash Skill was truly useful. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

After regrouping, they continued onward. They had only walked a few hundred meters when two Exotic Beasts shot out from the woods to attack them. The beasts looked like rats magnified dozens of times, with sharp snouts, vicious teeth, and bodies covered in long, gray fur. Before Ning Xuan could even get a clear look at them, the sharp blade Qinghe had been toying with in his hand flew out. The crescent-shaped weapon flew in a circle and then returned to Qinghe’s hand, its silver surface gleaming without a single trace of blood.

The two Exotic Beasts collapsed to the ground, decapitated. Dark red blood quickly pooled beneath them.

"Qinghe, you’re incredible!" Nine-tailed shouted excitedly. He then rushed forward and began skinning and butchering the Exotic Beasts, analyzing whether their flesh was poisonous or edible.